Douglas Frederick Wilson (born July 5, 1957) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

, who later served as general manager of the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Playing career

After a junior hockey career for the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play their h ...

in the

Ontario Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...

, Wilson was drafted in the first round, sixth overall, in the 1977

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

. He then played 14 seasons with the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and two years for the

in the

. He was the first captain in Sharks history, serving two years before retiring after the

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

season. Wilson played 14 seasons in Chicago and still ranks as the club's highest-scoring defenceman in points (779 — sixth overall), goals (225 — 12th overall) and assists (554 — third overall). Wilson is fifth all-time in games played (938) for Chicago. He also led all Blackhawks defencemen in scoring for 10 consecutive seasons ( 1980–81 through

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

). In 1982, he was awarded the

James Norris Memorial Trophy The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Ja ...

, as the League's top defenceman. That year, he had 39 goals and 85 points, which are still the Blackhawks single-season records for goals and points by a defenceman. He was selected to eight

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

s (seven with Chicago and one with San Jose). While with Chicago, Wilson was named as an NHL First Team All-Star in 1982 and twice was named as an NHL Second Team All-Star (1985 and 1990). Wilson agreed to waive his no-trade clause and was acquired by San Jose from Chicago just before the Sharks first season ( 1991–92) for prospect Kerry Toporowski and San Jose's 2nd round choice in the 1992 NHL draft. Wilson brought instant credibility and respect to the young franchise. He played two seasons for the Sharks, scoring 48 points (12 goals, 36 assists) in 86 games. Other career highlights include serving as the franchise's first team captain (1991–93), being the team's first representative in an All-Star Game (1991–92), playing in his NHL-milestone 1,000th game on November 21, 1992, (77th player in League history) and twice named Sharks nominee (1992 and 1993) for the

King Clancy Memorial Trophy The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is a sports award given annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. The ...

(for leadership and humanitarian contributions both on-and off-the-ice). At his 1,000th NHL game-played ceremony, he announced the creation of the Doug Wilson Scholarship Foundation. This scholarship provides assistance to worthy college-bound Bay Area students, and continues today. Wilson announced his retirement as a member of the Sharks during training camp in 1993–94 after playing in 1,024 career games. In addition, he played in 95 career playoff games and scored 80 points (19 goals, 61 assists). The Ottawa native scored 827 points (237 goals, 590 assists) during his career that began in 1977–78 with Chicago. Wilson was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on June 24, 2020, in his 24th year of eligibility.

Career achievements

* Hockey Hall of Fame (2020) *

winner as best defenceman in NHL (1982), nominee in 1990 *

nominee (1992, 1993) * First Team All-Star (1981–82) * 2-time Second Team All-Star (1984–85, 1989–90) * 8-time

selection (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992) * Member of gold medal-winning Team Canada at

Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...

(

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

) * Chicago Blackhawks leader in career goals and points by a defenceman * Led all Chicago Blackhawks defencemen in scoring for 10 consecutive seasons * First captain in San Jose Sharks team history

Retirement and executive career

In 2004, Wilson was named to the Positive Coaching Alliance's National Advisory Board. PCA, established at Stanford University in 1998, tries to create a positive character-building experience by using sports to teach life lessons. The "win-at-all-costs" mentality is de-emphasized in PCA. Wilson was inducted into the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame in September 1999. He also serves on the NHL's board of directors for the alumni association. In October 1998, the Ottawa 67s honored his career by retiring his No. 7 sweater. Known as an offensive defenceman, he recorded 295 points in 194 OHL games with the 67s from 1975–77. In addition, during the same weekend of activities in his hometown, he was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. The San Jose Sharks hired Wilson as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

on May 13, 2003, replacing

Dean Lombardi Dean Lombardi (born March 5, 1958) is an American ice hockey executive with the Philadelphia Flyers. He most recently served as the president, general manager and alternate governor of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He ...

, who had been dismissed on March 18. As general manager, Wilson was credited with building the Sharks into a perennially competitive team, reaching their first Stanley Cup Final in 2016. On April 7, 2022, Wilson stepped down from the position permanently to focus on his health, having been on medical leave since November 26, 2021, following two months of a non-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

related persistent cough; assistant general manager Joe Will filled in for the remainder of the season. On July 5, 2022, still dealing with his undisclosed illness, Wilson retired, with former San Jose Shark

Mike Grier Michael James Grier (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey winger and current general manager of the San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buf ...

replacing him as general manager.

Personal life

Doug and his wife, Kathy, have four children: Lacey, Doug, Charlie and Chelsea. His daughter Chelsea plays

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

for the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. His son Doug played hockey in Australia for the

Melbourne Ice The Melbourne Ice is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Melbourne, Victoria, based at the Icehouse in the Docklands precinct of central Melbourne. Founded in 2000, the Ice have been a member of the Australian Ice Hockey Leag ...

before joining the front office of the Sharks. His daughter Lacey was

Miss Massachusetts USA The Miss Massachusetts USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Massachusetts in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently produced by The Clemente Organization based in Malden, Massachusetts, which also prod ...

in 2010 and

Miss Illinois Teen USA The Miss Illinois Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Illinois in the Miss Teen USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates and is previously directed by D&D Productions from 2001 to ...

in 2002. His brother, Murray Wilson, won four Stanley Cups with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Doug 1957 births Living people Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Chicago Blackhawks players Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Ottawa Indianapolis Racers draft picks James Norris Memorial Trophy winners National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first-round draft picks National Hockey League general managers Ottawa 67's players San Jose Sharks coaches San Jose Sharks executives San Jose Sharks players San Jose Sharks scouts